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Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward Stiller was born November 30, 1965. He is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and director. He is the son of comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. After beginning his acting career with a play, Stiller wrote several mockumentaries, and was offered his own show entitled The Ben Stiller Show ''which he produced and hosted for its 13-episode run. Having previously acted in television, he began acting in films. Ben made his directorial debut with ''Reality Bites. Throughout his career he has written, starred in, directed, and/or produced more than 50 films. In addition, he has had multiple cameos in music videos, television shows, and films. His films have grossed more than $2.6 billion in Canada and the United States, with an average of $79 million per film. Throughout his career, he has received multiple awards and honors. Early Life Stiller was born in New York City, New York in 1965. His father is from a Jewish family. His mother who has an Irish Catholic background, converted to Reform Judaism after marrying his father. The family was celebrated both Hannukah and Christmas. Stiller's parents frequently took him on the sets of their appearances, including The Mike Douglas Show when he was six. He stated in an interview that he considered his childhood unusual. Stiller displayed an early interest in filmmaking and made Super 8 movies with his sister and friends. At nine years old, he made his acting debut as a guest on his mother's short-lived television series, Kate McShane.. In the late 1970s, he performed with the New York City troupe NYC's First All Children's Theater, playing several roles, including the title role in Clever Jack and the Magic Beanstalk. After being inspired by the television show Second City Television while in high school, Stiller realized that he wanted to get involved with sketch comedy. Acting Career Early work When he was approximately 15, Stiller obtained a small part with one line on the television soap opera Guiding Light, although in an interview he characterized his performance as poor. He was later cast in a role in the 1986 Broadway revival of John Guare's The House of Blue Leaves, alongside John Mahoney. The production would garner four Tony Awards. During its run, Stiller produced a satirical mockumentary whose principal was fellow actor Mahoney. His comedic work was well received by the cast and crew of the play, and he followed up with a 10-minute short called The Hustler of Money, a parody of the film The Color of Money. The film featured him in a send-up of Tom Cruise's character and Mahoney in the Paul Newman role, only this time as a bowling hustler instead of a pool shark. The short got the attention of SNL, which aired it in 1987, and two years later offered him a spot as a writer. In the meantime, he also had a bit part in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun. In 1989, Stiller wrote and appeared on Saturday Night Live as a featured performer. However, since the show did not want him to make more short films, he left after four episodes. He then put together Elvis Stories, a short film about a fictitious tabloid focused on recent sightings of Elvis Presley. The film was considered a success, and led him to develop another film titled Going Back to Brooklyn for MTV. References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Stiller